Caught In A Moment
by canny-bairn
Summary: They were alive, that's all that mattered until reality hit them and now they all have to face the repercussions.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer – I own nothing!**

**I don't know where this one came from, but some of you may have realised that every so often I pair up Prentiss and Will (for reasons unknown to me) and so here's a little (very little) one-shot set during the season 7 finale, 'Hit and Run.'**

**If anyone likes it there may be a little follow up.**

**Let me know what you think.**

...

Will exhaled the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

He was alive.

They were alive.

Without trepidation he shook off the _contrapment_ tied around him and reached for the brunette who just saved his live by disarming the bomb attached to his chest.

She met his eyes, knowing what was coming but unwilling to pull away as he dragged her forwards and pressed a firm almost forceful kiss to her lips.

"Thank God." He murmured against her soft, pliable lips.

Arms instinctively wrapped around each other as the kiss deepened.

They were alive. That was all that mattered. They were relieved. They were ecstatic. This was just an instant jubilant reaction. If anything, this kiss was meant as a celebration. It was simply a, hey-thank-the-fuck-we-made-it kiss.

Nothing more.

So why wasn't it stopping?

When her hand made contact with his chest, they groaned instinctively as their bodies moulded together.

It wasn't until she heard a buzzing in her ear, that the experienced profiler moved back and pressed her fingers to her tingling lips as she stared at the equally shocked detective opposite her.

"SWAT... They, erm want to know if they can enter... the building." Prentiss stated shakily.

Will's eyes darted to the explosives discarded to their left. "As long as we can get the hell out of here, I don't care who comes in."

They moved in sync, standing both unbalanced with adrenaline. "Oh, your arm."

"My arm?" Will frowned looking down to where her thin fingers were tracing the makeshift, bloodied bandage that had placed there only a few hours ago.

Prentiss stopped them at the top of the stairs, her eyes focused on the weeping wound. "It's bleeding."

"I hadn't noticed." He replied with his gaze stuck on her swollen pink mouth.

The profiler's eyes shifted up to his and a soft groan escaped her pulsing lips.

Their next kiss wasn't as desperate as the first.

This kiss was definitely not about relief or gratitude.

Will pulled her whole body flush against his and his hands slowly, almost sensuously ran up and down her back as their tongues tangled languidly, without the urgency of the first time they tasted each other.

The sound of heavy footsteps jolted their mouths apart but she kept a hand against his back as he did the same for support.

"That should probably stop happening." Will chuckled lowly.

Prentiss tightened her hand on his back tensely. "Will, it's not funny."

"Sorry." He frowned.

"Will." She whispered as the exit of the building came into few, with dozens of SWAT agents milling around them. "We... about... I..."

"I know." He replied mirroring her confusion over what was going on between them, as a paramedic approached them, and ushered the injured police officer into an ambulance.

Prentiss followed them into the cramped space, feeling awkward as their eyes kept connecting, building up the sudden spark between them.

Silence took over the ambulance, with only the two paramedics breaking the quietness with their medical questions and curiosity over the busy media day in Washington D.C.

When she caught Will's knowing smirk out of the corner of her eye, the slightly older woman admonished him quickly. "Stop it. We're nearly at the hospital."

"Emily." The softness of his voice and intensity of his gaze, even made the male paramedic swoon in the back of the small ambulance.

Prentiss glared at the medic, who quickly went back to checking the detectives' blood pressure, before reacting to Will's prompting. "We were just caught up in the moment and incredibly stupid."

"I know." He nodded guiltily.

"Good." She breathed out unevenly, and concentrated on picking at her nails until the vehicle stopped outside the hospital.

The doors opened to reveal David Rossi, examining the pair for serious injuries. "Hey, I got a call you two were on your way. Glad you both made it one piece."

"Thanks Dave." Prentiss smiled warmly.

"You got a call?" Will asked after shaking the older man's hand welcomingly.

Rossi stepped aside to let the paramedics lower their patient down in a wheelchair. "Morgan rang. JJ's getting Henry looked at but don't worry, he's perfectly fine. I'll bring them to you."

Will stared him momentarily forgetting the hell his whole family must have been through. "Thanks."

Prentiss and Will watched the acclaimed author head towards the entrance of the hospital in search of the mother and son, studiously avoiding each other's eye line.

"Shit. JJ and Henry." Prentiss exclaimed worriedly.

"Emily, please don't do this to yourself." He reassured meekly. "You said it yourself we were caught up in a highly tense and stressful moment."

She followed Will and the paramedics to the doorway then turned her back to the Southern detective. "Go, be with your family."

"Emily, I... Thank you." Will responded in heartfelt wanting her to turn to face him.

Prentiss wavered in confliction to turn or not. Deciding it was best to just walk away, the tired brunette shook her head and forced herself to keep her eyes forwards. "I have to go now."

"Please, Emily, don't walk away. We need to talk about this." He insisted in ignorance of the hovering paramedics and suddenly appearing nurses and reached for her hand.

Looking down at where their fingers were intertwined, Prentiss sniffled back threatening tears when she became, overcome with emotions. "You need to get your arm seen too."

"That's it?" Will tugged her hand forcing her eyes to meet his.

Nodding once, Prentiss sighed apologetically. "Goodbye Will."

...

**Thanks for reading! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimed!**

**Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing!**

**This was only supposed to be a one-shot but then I thought of something else to write. I've wrote a similar story to this chapter 'The Wedding That Never Happened' but it's different circumstances. **

**There may be a few more chapters of this fic and because I'm me, there'll probably be inklings of Jotch, but Emily and Will (Emill? Williss? Prentagne? Idk, they're a rare pairing I don't think they have an internet name!) will be the main pairing.**

**Let me know what you think!**

...

Will's eyes narrowed in on the brunette profiler standing at the other end of the veranda, talking the BAU's Unit Chief.

Rossi was talking about a suit the groom to be could wear or something to do with napkins, the detective couldn't quite follow the profiler's conversation as his mind wandered.

This whole wedding thing had got out of control.

One minute there was bomb strapped to his chest, then he was kissing Emily Prentiss.

He had kissed his, now fiancé's best friend.

How did he end up engaged so quickly?

Will scrubbed his face with the palm of his hand feeling anxious.

"Are you alright?" Rossi asked worriedly.

Will cleared his throat and nodded. "Yeah, I'm just... nervous."

"It's perfectly natural. Everyone is on their wedding day." The thrice married man assured. "I know this was kind of sprung on you but I can tell you've been waiting a long time to get JJ down the aisle."

He smiled thinly in response. "Yeah, it's been a while."

It had been a while, the detective mused silently. He can remember the first time he suggested marriage. It was the absolutely wrong time to even mention marriage. It was only minutes after JJ had called to tell him they were having a baby.

Ever since that fateful night, the guarded Pennsylvanian had made sure they never really discussed marriage. For her, it was unnecessary and would only occur because of Henry. Will was fine with that but yesterday's bank heist/invasion of their home/his kidnap/bomb strapped to his chest had changed her reluctance towards a wedding.

Bomb strapped to his chest... Will's eyes automatically sought out the slender Ambassador's daughter where she was still talking to Hotch.

"The nerves will go as soon as you see your bride in her dress." Rossi said knowingly, bringing the younger man out of his thoughts.

Will glanced to where Reid and Garcia were playing with Henry, in the profiler's expansive garden. He smiled at his son's happiness before replying to the hovering author. "Thanks for everything Rossi. This sure is a nice thing for you to do."

"JJ is family. So are you and Henry." Rossi shook his hand. "Just don't hurt her or you'll have the FBI after your ass."

They both laughed but Will grimaced as Prentiss caught the corner of his eye once more. "I should get changed."

Rossi turned to talk to the caterer as the groom walked into the house, or mansion as Rossi continually corrected everyone.

He had just made it into the kitchen when a small voice stopped him in his tracks. "Will."

"Emily." Will turned and smiled widely. "How are you?

"I'm not the one who was shot." She replied with a cringe as her eyes instinctively ran up and down his body.

He chuckled lowly. "I'm fine, thanks to you."

"I wanted to congratulate you and JJ." Prentiss said softly.

Will smiled thinly and nodded. "Thanks, but... honestly it's happened kind of quickly."

"You know it's the right time for you two. JJ loves you and she wants to marry you. You should feel like the happiest man alive." Prentiss tensed defensively of her best friend.

"I am, I just can't help the guilt I feel." He confessed quietly.

She shook her head adamantly. "Nothing happened yesterday to make you feel guilty Will. Trust me."

"I'm sorry, for putting you in an uncomfortable position though." Will stressed uncomfortably.

Rolling her eyes, Prentiss crossed her arms to create a barrier between them. "Will, it took two."

"But I am sorry." He reiterated.

"I'm leaving the team." The long time profiler blurted out, shocking both of them at the same time.

"What?" Will gasped.

Prentiss cleared her throat with a small, self encouraging cough. "I'm going to leave the team and D.C. I haven't told anyone my decision yet, but I wanted you to know."

"Because of what happened between us?" Will pushed demandingly.

"No, yes. I've changed. I don't belong here anymore." Prentiss looked down to the ground nervously. "Yesterday just added to reasons of why I need to leave."

Will shook his head slowly. "Don't."

"Don't what?" She asked in confusion.

"Don't leave." He pleaded with wide eyes.

The brunette profiler tilted her head apologetically. "I have too."

Will looked around the room in frustration. "No you don't. You're running away from your problems but that won't make you feel any better."

"You have to go and get changed." Prentiss stated firmly.

He bit his lower lip in uncertainty over whether or not to leave her standing in the kitchen. "We'll talk later, okay?"

"No, we won't but that's how it's supposed to be." She smiled solemnly. "Go and get married Will. I am so, so very happy for you both."

"Don't leave before talking to me again, okay." Will instructed before she turned her back to him.

He muttered a curse under his breath before walking further into the house.

Rossi had told him he was to get changed in the room on the left at the top of the stairs but the voices to his right stopped him.

Pausing in on the landing, Will could hear Sandy Jareau talking lovingly to her only daughter, and his stomach suddenly dropped. He rushed into the bathroom next to the spare room feeling the bile rise in his throat but manage to control the nausea.

Staring at himself in the mirror, he grimaced as he took in his grey complexion and evidently troubled expression.

"Shit man, pull yourself together." Will mumbled and splashed cold water on his face.

Guilt raged through him.

He needed the guilt to stop.

Will left the bathroom and walked over to the bedroom where his bride was getting ready. Without knocking, he opened the door and froze at the sight of JJ's angelic frame.

The blonde profiler was observing her own blissful reflection in the full length mirror, admiring her mom's altered wedding dress.

"Will what do you think you're doing in here?" Sandy demanded an answer while covering her daughter up with a red robe.

He took one last look at JJ's wedding dress before turning to his mother-in-law. "I need to talk to JJ."

"It's bad luck for you to see the bride in her dress William." Sandy scolded.

JJ frowned at her partner's dishevelled state. "It's okay Mom. Can you give us a few minutes?"

"I'll go and check on that grandson of mine." The greying blonde woman excused herself after casting a worried look her daughter's way.

"Thanks Sandy." Will stood aside to let his partner's only parent passed, before closing the door behind her.

JJ stepped forwards and reached for his hand. "What's wrong?"

"You look amazing." He complemented when kissing her chastely.

She grinned widely under his loving gaze. "Thanks. Can you believe Mom got this dress altered for me after we told her we were having Henry?"

"I can't believe you finally want to get married." Will announced with an uncertain smile.

"I told you it would happen one day." She smirked lovingly.

He shifted awkwardly on his feet as she squeezed his hand encouragingly. "Jayje, I need to..."

"Will you're scaring me." JJ tilted her head to the side as she internally evaluated his behaviour.

"I don't think we should do this today." Will announced softly.

The silence between them lengthened awkwardly.

JJ was the first to blink. "You don't want to get married?"

"No, yes, of course I do, just not today." He stuttered his response.

"I don't understand, if you didn't want to do this now, you could have told Rossi. You've been in cahoots with him since yesterday." JJ countered in confusion.

"I know but I thought that if we didn't marry now, when you wanted to, we never will." Will stressed uncomfortably.

The bride scoffed harshly. "So what you're saying is you want me to change my mind again. You don't want us to get married but you want it to be my fault?"

"No, JJ that's not..." Will ran his hands through his thick hair in frustration. "I just think yesterday you were scared and you're making decisions when you probably shouldn't be."

Before JJ could open her mouth to question is statement, Will blurted out what had been on his conscience. "I kissed Emily."

"You kissed..." JJ opened her mouth and shook her head in confusion. "Emily... Emily Prentiss?"

"Yesterday, we kissed yesterday, after she found me." He explained ashamedly.

JJ tensed after dropping his hand. "Why?"

Will stilled seeing the inevitable hurt on her face. "We were one edge, there was a bomb and emotions were running high. At the time it just felt right."

"It felt right?" She repeated in disbelief.

He nodded with lowered eyes. "Then I kissed her again."

"Today?" JJ asked with a stronger, angry voice.

Will shook his head quickly. "No, yesterday, after the first kiss."

"I don't understand how you want me to react." The bride turned her back on the groom and watched him through the mirror. "Do you have feelings for her?"

His hesitation made JJ cringe. "Not that I'm aware of."

"Why tell me then, you could have kept this to yourself? You don't want to get married, do you?" She asked rigidly.

"It's not that, I told you for a few reasons." He drawled on. "I didn't want to marry you without you knowing what had happened. Because this wedding is happening quickly and I'm reeling. Then there's the fact that we had a shock yesterday and now it kind of feels like we're rushing into this."

"Do you still want to marry me?" JJ queried shakily.

Will answered instantly. "Yes."

Biting her lower lip, JJ paused before asking her next question. "What about Emily?"

He stared at her blankly. "I..."

JJ shrugged off the robe and held his gaze in the mirror. "Will you unzip me?"

"JJ, please." He stepped forwards slightly unsure of how to comfort his girlfriend of five years.

She closed her eyes to stop the tears, which had formed in her eyes, from falling. "You're right, this is happening quickly. We're all still in shock."

"JJ, stop." Will placed his hand onto her shoulder but quickly removed it when he felt her stiffen.

"Unzip me." JJ demanded. "Just get me out of this godforsaken dress, please."

He quickly did as she asked and stepped back. "Yell at me or hit me. Please just give me some indication of how you're feeling."

Unable to meet his pleading eyes, she inhaled deeply and voiced her request. "Can you send my Mom back in here?"

"JJ." Will begged with wide eyes.

Snappily, she retorted while creating distance between them. "Will, please just get my Mom."

...

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimed!**

**Sorry for the delay, if anyone has been waiting for this to be updated.**

**Let me know what you think.**

...

Hotch strolled into the diner the team often frequented during the middle of the night when a local case had stalled.

Prentiss stiffened as the Unit Chief waved awkwardly over to her as he placed an order for coffee before joining her.

"Sorry I'm late." He apologised as he approached the corner table, where his colleague was sitting. "I had to drop Beth's glasses off at her work and Jack forgot his towel bag so we had to go all the way home instead of going straight to the pool and..."

She shook her head in response to his frazzled state. "Don't worry about it. Thanks for coming."

"That's alright, you seemed a little upset at the wedding yesterday, well the almost wedding. Is everything okay?" Hotch observed her in concern with his head tilted to the side.

She stilled at the mention of the near wedding. "Have you heard from JJ?"

"No, have you?" His voice lowered in concern as she shook her head. "Garcia has talked to Sandy but no-one has seemingly heard from JJ. Not even Will according to Garcia."

"Oh."

"Rossi said that JJ and Will wanted to wait until everyone's adrenaline had gone down after the last case and make sure marriage was what they both wanted later, but JJ wouldn't leave with Henry to Pennsylvania without Will if they were just postponing the ceremony." Hotch stated hesitantly.

"Maybe they just need time." Prentiss offered weakly.

He sighed in doubt. "Maybe."

Looking down to her half empty mug of decaf coffee, Emily struggled to find her next words. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately..."

"Here's your coffee hon." A waitress appeared and handed Hotch his coffee interrupting the pair with a bright smile.

Hotch smiled back gratefully. "Thank you."

The two profilers waited until the waitress was out of earshot before resuming their conversation. "So what have you been thinking about?"

Prentiss smiled thinly at his prompting. "I know you said I could come to you about anything."

"Of course you can." He frowned unsure of where the conversation was heading.

Inhaling slowly, the brunette agent steeled herself to continue. "I'm not happy."

"I know." The Unit Chief nodded before sipping his drink.

"I tried so hard to pretend that nothing happened, for the team's sake. There have already been so many changes." She revealed in confliction.

Hotch digested her words before continuing. "The last thing I want is for you to feel that you have to pretend around us."

"I thought everything would go back to normal but it hasn't. I don't think I can go on like this." She said unevenly.

Hotch nodded in understanding. "So what is your plan?"

"I'm leaving the BAU. Actually I'm leaving D.C." Emily sighed in relief after voicing her decision.

Hotch's eyes widened in shock. "Really?"

"Clyde Easter needs a deputy in Interpol's London division." She paused briefly. "He asked me a couple of weeks ago and I accepted yesterday. This is my informal resignation, but I'll sort everything out properly next week."

"I can't say I like the man but if you're happy with your decision that's all any of us want. Congratulations." He encouraged warmly.

She rolled her eyes knowing that not all the team would feel that way if they heard about her situation with Will. "Thanks."

"What else is wrong?" Hotch asked, sensing there was more to the story.

Her face crumbled under his intense scrutiny. "What do you mean?"

"Emily, you know we'd all support you. You know, we care about you and would want what you want. So there must be something else." He rested back in his seat pondering the options. "Do you not want to go? Is someone making you feel as though you should leave?"

"No, I..." The sound of Hotch's cell phone ringing caught them both off guard.

He retrieved the small object from his jacket pocket and hesitated to accept the call. "Sorry."

"You can answer it." Prentiss offered, wanting the distraction.

Hotch bit his lower lip not wanting to be rude. "I told Garcia to ring me."

"Go ahead." Prentiss smiled warmly and returned to her drink while listening to the one sided conversation.

"Hotchner... That's good... Did she say anything else?... No, okay, yeah that's great, thanks Garcia... I know, no one ever can truly know... I'm sure she doesn't... Penelope stop fretting... okay, I will do... Thanks."

"Everything okay?" Prentiss questioned at her colleague's discomfort.

Hotch nodded while putting his phone away. "I wanted Garcia to call me if JJ contacted her."

"How is she?" She asked eagerly.

"According to Garcia, JJ's fine." Hotch stopped momentarily to take another sip of his warm beverage. "She doesn't want any of us to worry."

Prentiss scoffed quietly at her friend's stubbornness. "No, I figured she wouldn't."

"JJ is a very private woman. She always has been." He stated knowingly.

"I don't want her to be hurting." She sighed in heartfelt.

Hotch frowned at her choice of wording. "Do you think he did something?"

"Well, JJ's known for her independence... Will isn't a bad guy... I don't necessarily think anything is wrong... it was kind of sprung on them." Prentiss stumbled feeling her cheeks burn up.

"I wouldn't have thought anything of it, with it being a surprise wedding and knowing JJ's reluctance to marry earlier in their relationship, but I guess running off to Pennsylvania made me think there more is to the postponement." Hotch examined his friend closely to figure out if he was anywhere close to the truth.

"I..."

Hotch froze at seeing her serious expression. "What do you know?"

"I think it's partly my fault." She said hesitantly.

"What do you mean?"

"I know it's mostly my fault." Prentiss groaned.

Hotch looked at her sympathetically. "I'm sure it wasn't anything to do with you. If you said anything to JJ she would have already had to have had those doubts to call off..."

"Will called off the wedding because of me." She blurted out with a shaky voice.

"What?" He straightened in surprise.

Avoiding his eyes guiltily, Prentiss explained in a rush. "Will and I kissed on Friday and then we didn't get a chance to talk and he freaked out and the next thing I know he's telling me that the wedding is off and JJ knows we kissed but she was already gone and I couldn't talk to her..."

"Prentiss, take a breath." He ordered firmly.

She exhaled shakily. "I fucked up."

"You kissed Will?" Hotch asked for confirmation with his eyes.

"Twice." The brunette profiler admitted.

"And he was the one who called off the wedding?" He prompted.

Prentiss nodded, her devastation evident. "I didn't ask him too. I told him I was leaving."

"Are you leaving because of him?" Hotch asked in concern.

Prentiss paused momentarily before answering. "No, I'm leaving for myself but I should be leaving because of him too."

"JJ knows?" Hotch pushed suddenly nervous of what the impact could be for his friends and team as a whole.

"According to Will, he told her shortly before the ceremony." Prentiss moaned in discomfort. "She didn't really react, just got Henry and her Mom together and left."

"When did you talk to Will?" Hotch asked tying to remember where the groom had been after the couple had announced the wedding postponement.

Prentiss bit her lower lip. "He called me after we all left. We went to a bar."

"God Prentiss, what are you thinking?" Hotch berated in a disappointment.

"Nothing happened. We had a drink and talked, that's all." She said defensively.

Hotch stared at her in disbelief. "He just called off his wedding to your best friend and you went for a drink with him."

"I felt responsible." Prentiss declared. "I couldn't let him make more mistakes. I told him to go after her. I told him that nothing was ever going to happen between us. He just needed someone to talk to."

"Did you even think of your friendship with JJ?" He pressed sternly.

"After the kisses I've never felt guiltier." She admitted softly.

Hotch sighed. "So why did you risk everything?"

"I wasn't thinking. We had just survived a potential bomb going off and killing us both, we reacted that's all." She explained emotively.

"That couldn't be all, otherwise Will wouldn't call off his wedding. JJ's a reasonable person, she would forgive you both after some time to process." Hotch stressed in disappointment.

"He told me, that things with JJ had been at a stalemate before the bank robbery. Although they were in a better place than they had been in months, they had both been stepping on eggshells around each other since she returned to the BAU and he was shocked when she asked him, to ask her to marry him." She froze, realising how revealing she was being but continued anyway. "He said that while the kisses between us might have been reflexive due to the stress of the day, it made him realise that he wanted more from his relationship than he knew he could get."

"Shit, Prentiss." He moaned in discomfort.

She ran her hand through her hair. "Hotch, I don't know what to do. I fucked everything up."

"You need to give them both space and allow them to work everything out." Hotch replied honestly. "I care about both you and JJ, I'm not going to take sides in this, but I think you should stay as far away from Will as you can."

"What if they break up? It'll be my fault." She stated worriedly.

Hotch frowned. "If they break up it's their decision alone. Your friendship with JJ on the other hand is up to you and JJ. I don't know how I'd handle this if I were in her place."

"She must hate me." Prentiss cringed in guilt.

"I wouldn't blame her entirely if she were at the moment, but if you and Will are certain it meant nothing..." He closed his eyes to mask his disappointment as Prentiss' eyes widened tellingly. "It meant something."

"I don't know." She admitted softly.

Hotch shook his head softly. "I'm not going to get in the middle of this Prentiss. JJ's my friend too, and I don't want to see either of you get hurt."

"I just need to leave and let everyone move on with their lives." Prentiss replied decisively.

The Unit Chief tensed as the extent of his colleague's revelation hit him. "In my opinion you won't be able to move on completely without making it right with JJ first."

...

**Thanks for reading! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimed!**

**Sorry for the delay. **

**Let me know what you think.**

...

JJ watched her son happily pass the soccer ball back and forth between his cousins in her mother's front yard.

It had been three days since she had retreated with her young son to her hometown and was grateful that her son was promptly distracted from his absent father, by her cousin's children.

Will had started calling the house the previous day after allowing his former fiancée some time to collect her thoughts.

JJ cleared her throat as she leaned against the porch railing.

She had resigned herself to being the former fiancée and probably ex girlfriend.

The profiler had seen the look in Will's eyes during his wedding revelation. It was as though a light been switched on in his mind. The kiss between the detective and Ambassador's daughter meant more to him than he was letting on. The kiss was all he could think of. And the kiss had opened his eyes to the fact that his relationship with the mother of his son had been running on fumes.

JJ was certain that they had moved passed their differences years ago. The wedding was her way of telling him that their relationship was forever, but that thought was quickly dashed after that fateful day in the country's capital.

JJ and Will had always been different, but as Will had always commentated, opposites attract.

Their personalities weren't huge opposites, they were just different. They had different beliefs. Different likes and dislikes. They were raised with different values, family styles and social classes.

JJ was North. Will was South.

At first they balanced each other out, but then they begun to repel each other even if neither wanted to admit it, which caused more friction in their relationship than should have.

That was another big issue in their relationship. They rarely argued or addressed the issues which affected their relationship. After all, Will favoured passive aggressiveness and JJ liked to run from her issues.

Humming to herself, JJ recoiled. She should have known they wouldn't last.

She should have realised what their relationship was, and it was not enough for a marriage.

If anything, the blonde profiler didn't hate Will for stopping the wedding. He knew that they wouldn't make it.

But why had he destroyed everything in the process?

Sure, end their relationship if they weren't in it for the long haul but why kiss one of her best friends and ruin her already fragile trust?

As though she had summoned her face from her thoughts, Emily Prentiss stood at the gate at the bottom of the yard.

JJ groaned as the brunette met her eyes with a worried lip tremble.

"Boys, why don't you see if Grandma Sandy has some lemonade?" She called out, ushering the children inside the small home.

Prentiss shuffled on her feet awkwardly before greeting the impatient blonde profiler. "Hi."

"What are you doing here?" JJ asked quickly as she wandered down the path towards the gate.

"I... I wanted to see you." She replied meekly.

"I don't want any apologies, Emily. I don't want to understand nor do I really want to talk to you right now." JJ stated stubbornly.

Before she could escape, Prentiss sighed dejectedly, stopping her friend's movements. "I'm moving to London next month. I don't want to go like this."

"You should have thought about that before kissing my boyfriend." JJ retorted softly.

"I'm sorry." The older woman apologised quickly.

"I don't want to be a bitch to you, or act like we're back in high school, but what happened between you and Will, shouldn't have happened and you should have definitely said something to me before the wedding." JJ stressed in attempt to hide her anger.

"I know JJ, but I honestly have no idea how it happened. It just did and I..." A car parking up behind her, caused Prentiss to falter her words.

JJ hissed in disbelief as the driver got out of the silver vehicle and approached the two women. "Unbelievable."

"We didn't come here together, JJ. I swear." Prentiss assured the former liaison.

JJ stared between the two people she used to be extremely close to. "I'm going back into the house. Both of you please go."

"JJ, wait," Will spoke out for the first time since he joined them, "I want to talk. I want to see Henry."

JJ scoffed lightly. "It's only been three days. What don't you understand about giving me space?"

"We messed up, we know that. We just want to talk." Prentiss pleaded while she stayed on the street side of the gate alongside the detective.

Will met her baby blue eyes and cringed. "Don't run away from us, JJ."

"Why shouldn't I?" She practically yelled in response to their closeness.

Will was the one to stop her again escaping again. "JJ..."

Turning around on her heels, JJ waved her arms to the side of her emotively as she voice her anger. "You kissed Emily, twice. Fine, I could have perhaps understood. You thought you were going to die and so you kissed the woman who saved your life. But it wasn't just a kiss was it? It wasn't just a grateful peck on the cheek?"

"No." He admitted quietly.

JJ inhaled slowly to steady her beating heart. "And when you kissed her, it meant something to you. To the both of you?"

"I don't know." They both said shakily, in unison.

"You're not in love with me, Will." JJ revealed knowingly. "Are you in love with her?"

"No, I don't think... so. I, just... when we kissed there was something different there, something I've never felt with you." Will stuttered in confusion.

JJ laughed regretfully. "Why did you say yes to marrying me, if you knew you weren't in love with me?"

"Is that what you're most concerned about?" Will groaned in despair. "JJ, I said yes because I've been waiting years to get you down the aisle."

JJ sniffled back her tears. "I wanted to show you how in love I was with you. I was so scared that I lost you, all of my fears about commitment and ruining everything, just left and I took that leap of faith. Only you for you to throw it back in my face."

Will shook in frustration. "I do love you, JJ, and I wanted to marry you, I'm just not..."

"Say it." She prompted her ex as he stalled.

"I'm not in love with you." He whispered apologetically.

JJ nodded and steeled herself with a fortifying breath. "Well then."

Prentiss glared at Will before meeting her younger friend's glassy eyes. "JJ. Please, we're..."

JJ shook her head. "I'm not mad. I'm sad. I'm really sad. So please go. Deal with whatever this is, going on between you. I hold no grudges and you have my blessing with whatever you guys decide."

"JJ, don't walk away from us." Will said loudly as the emotional agent retreated further towards the house.

"I have too. Because this hurts," She indicated between them. "But, I'm sure I'll get over it."

Without a second glance, JJ walked into her childhood home and focused on calming her breathing as a wave of pain hit her core and her chest tightened suffocating the damaged profiler.

...

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	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimed!**

**Thanks to anyone who is still following this story.**

**Let me know what you think.**

...

Prentiss watched the front door close before turning away herself.

She felt him follow her so far down the sidewalk before she was once alone again.

Folding her arms across her chest, defensively, Prentiss berated herself for parking her car so far away from Sandy Jareau's house.

A silver sedan pulled up alongside the brunette profiler and slowed to her walking pace. "Get in."

"No." Prentiss spat back angrily as Will stared at her in annoyance.

The detective groaned loudly. "Emily, get in the damn car."

"I'm parked just around the car." She retorted with a mutter.

"For God's sake, Emily, get in this damn car, right now." Will shouted back in frustration.

Freezing on the spot, in shock of the usually laid back man's yell, Prentiss reluctantly opened the parked car's door and slid in with a huff of annoyance.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked as they drove out of town.

"Just a little further up the road." He responded quietly.

They remained in silence until, he parked up in a clearing of trees, where there were several, empty picnic tables.

The quiet between them continued until, Prentiss couldn't stand it anymore. "I told Hotch about what happened."

"I see." He replied dryly.

Prentiss continued, taking his silence as prompt to do so. "He was disappointed in me. He might not have said anything, but he was pissed at me, at us."

"That man has always had a soft spot for JJ." Will scoffed lightly.

"They're friends." She stated softly.

"I know, but I've never liked him being so close to her." He shrugged his shoulders. "She's always found it easier to talk to him than to me."

Silence over took them once more. This time the awkwardness of the lack of the silence made them both fidget in the front of the car uncomfortably.

"I shouldn't be sitting here with you." Prentiss said as she glanced around the eerie woodland which surrounded them.

"Listen, I screwed up. I shouldn't have kissed you but, no matter how many times I tell you or JJ what happened between us, that those kisses were innocent, I'm becoming the liar my Daddy never wanted me to be." He revealed solemnly.

She gasped under his intense gaze. "Will..."

"I love JJ. I've loved JJ since the second date. She's the kind of girl that deserves the world handed to her on a silver platter but has never really had the type of life or really, a relationship like she should've." He explained with a sigh of regret.

"I love JJ too." The profiler added lowly.

Will met her eyes for the first time since they had parked. "I know, which is why what happened between us was so, so wrong and was definitely not innocent."

"Oh God." Emily covered her face, with her palms guiltily.

"I don't know about you but I've never had a kiss like our second one. When I all I wanted was to get lost in you and keep on getting lost in you." Will said conspiratorially.

"Stop. Just stop talking." She insisted angrily.

Will closed his eyes briefly. "I love JJ but there's never been such a passionate connection between us like there was between you and I, Emily."

"You can't mean that." Prentiss gasped.

"I wish I could tell you that I don't, but passion comes from two people. JJ has never let herself fall in love with me, not completely." Will looked down to his hands on the steering wheel. "It took me years to knock down her walls and she still held back. Sure she loved me, but I've always doubted that she's ever been in love with me."

"I wanted to make it work with JJ but over the last three days, I've figured out that the only reason I want to make it work between JJ and I, is because that's how it's supposed to be. We have been dating for years, we have a kid together, hell marriage should have happened four years ago before Henry came, but it didn't." He stated bitterly.

Prentiss reached over the gear stick and placed her hand over his in comfort. "Will, you can't give up on JJ."

"JJ and I are supposed to live happily ever after, but we never are going to get that ending." Will shook his head slowly. "I came to terms that Henry and the work she does at the BAU is a focal part of her identity. I came to terms that her family are bunch of work colleagues and I came to terms with the fact that she wanted to raise our son a certain way. But I never even imagined you and I..."

"Me and you, what?" She prompted.

"Connecting." He looked down to where their hands were touching.

Prentiss snapped her hand back to her lap. "There'll be no more connecting, Will."

"Emily." He urged her to look at him by placing a finger under her chin and lifting her face up.

"Don't." Prentiss halted their movements as the heads instinctively leaned into each other's. "JJ is my best friend. I won't do anything else to hurt her."

"I'm not asking you too." Will stated softly.

Prentiss rested her head back onto the chair and groaned. "You're saying all these confusing things."

"I'm not professing my love to you, Em." He smiled, thinking he was lightening the serious mood that had overtaken the car.

Prentiss tilted her head to look at him. "I know that but I want love. I might not deserve love right now but I want it. I want to have a family. I want to be a person outside of the bureau with feelings and good, happy memories."

"You do deserve love, Emily." He reassured.

"It scared me when we kissed." She admitted quietly. "I realised that I was still capable of connecting, as you say, with another person, something I haven't been able to do in years. Why did it have to be you?"

"I don't know." He replied honestly.

Prentiss closed her eyes to stop tears from falling. "She's hurting, Will."

"I know and I hate that I was the one to cause that hurt."

"We were the ones to cause that hurt." She corrected.

"Emily. JJ and I were always going to end badly." Will expanded, uncomfortably. "There was never going to be a happy ending for us. Not while she stayed in the BAU."

"How can you say that?" She asked with a confused frown.

Will smirked. "Because look at how JJ and I started. We were a dirty secret for over a year. Then she got pregnant and she did her best to distance us. She didn't want me to move up to Virginia. Sure, she was pleased she wasn't going to be a single mom, but it took us nearly two years to get settled."

The experienced profiler shook her head in disagreement. "She wasn't ashamed of you Will. She's just..."

"We had to work at our relationship and it was good. For a long time it was even great, but it shouldn't have been that hard." Will concluded.

"So you kissed me because I'm easy?" She raised her eyes accusingly.

He smirked charmingly in response. "I kissed you because I couldn't help myself."

Prentiss bit her lower lip nervously. "What are we going to do, Will?"

Without hesitation, he leaned across to her side of the car, cupped the back of her head and kissed her deeply.

They were seconds away of loosing complete control, when Will pulled back and rested his forehead against hers, leaving them both breathless. "I honestly don't know."

"Can you drive me back to my car, please?" She squeaked, avoiding further conversation.

Will cleared his throat with a small cough, before straightening, taking a deep breath and starting the ignition. "Are you heading home, or are you staying around here?"

"There's no point in staying. Me being here, won't do any good." Prentiss retorted.

"I'll come by your place tomorrow. We'll talk then." Will stated rather than asking.

"Will, there's nothing to talk about." She replied sternly.

Stopping the car at the junction, Will reached over and kissed her again, just as passionately. "I think there is."

Prentiss stayed quiet until she had to direct him to her car. As they pulled alongside the rental, she shifted in her seat, to restart their conversation. "Are you going to try and talk to JJ again?"

"Yeah." Will nodded hesitantly.

Swallowing nervously, Prentiss kept her eyes away from his softened look as she spoke. "Will, don't hurt her anymore than you already have."

"JJ and I have a son together. We need to get this sorted out. I can't leave here without making it right, for Henry's sake. Even if the last thing she wants to do, is talk to me." He became ashen with a pang of conscience.

Prentiss opened the door, but remained in her seat to voice the worry in her mind. "I am moving to London, Will. So there really is no need for you to rush back so we can have that talk."

Will grinned at her smoothly. "I'll see you tomorrow, Princess."

...

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	6. Chapter 6

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**There are only a few chapters left.**

**Enjoy.**

...

JJ stared blankly at the sudden stranger, as they hovered awkwardly in her doorway of her mother's home. "What are you doing here, Will?"

"Can I come in? Please I just..." She stepped aside reluctantly. "Thank you."

JJ followed him into the kitchen and froze in the corner of the room, to keep some distance. "Well?"

"Do you hate me?" Will asked nervously.

"You're the father of my child." JJ retorted dryly.

He groaned in frustration. "That's not an answer."

"I don't know... A part of me will always love you, I know that, but I really want to hit you for ruining everything." JJ snapped back angrily.

"I understand." He eyed the tiled floor guiltily.

JJ wrapped her arms around her waist protectively. "Mom keeps saying that you didn't really cheat..."

Will sighed. "It was a kiss."

"Two kisses." She countered knowingly.

"I messed up." He acknowledged in conclusion.

JJ dropped her hands and fisted her hands tightly to her sides. "It was cheating Will. You have acted on an attraction to another woman who happens to be my best friend. You created an intimate moment with someone other than me and you felt so guilty about it that you put a stop to our wedding. It must have meant more to you than a reflexive action."

"JJ." He met her gaze with his teary brown eyes.

"If you were truly just caught in a moment, then why call the wedding off?" She pressed on in annoyance.

Will shook his head in uncertainty. "I didn't want you to think I trapped you in a marriage."

JJ eyed him pointedly. "What's the real reason Will?"

"I'm confused." He admitted quietly.

The profiler raised an eyebrow questioningly. "You love her."

"No." He said instinctively.

"Like her?" She prompted.

Will nodded reluctantly. "Yeah."

JJ scoffed disparagingly. "She's affected you that much?"

"I didn't know we were missing something." Will explained gently.

"We were missing something?" The thin framed blonde stepped back defensively.

"I don't want to hurt you anymore than I have done already." He comforted weakly.

"This is it for us." JJ announced simply.

"Jayje." He tilted his head to the side, admiring his partner's strength yet feeling suddenly hesitant as to where the conversation was heading.

JJ steeled herself with a shaky breath. "It's over, Will."

"I guess I knew that." Will closed his eyes to hide his unexpected disappointment.

"That's why you're here, to tell me you're riding off into the sunset with Emily, even though I told you I just needed space, right?" JJ deduced quickly.

Will straightened defensively. "No, I came to see you again to try and help. I want to see my son too. I do love you JJ but you deserve to have more than me."

There was a moment of silence before JJ spoke again. "How can this have happened so quickly?"

"It's not Emily, JJ. None of this has to do with her." Will expanded. "I've been unhappy for a while."

"I thought everything was going well lately?" She mused out loud.

"I dropped the issues that mattered to me, JJ. I figured it was easier just to keep my feelings to myself rather than start another argument that we just avoided until we found something else to concentrate on." He explained in forlorn.

"Why not just talk to me?" She prompted in disbelief.

Will met her steely eyes confidently. "Would you have listened?"

"Of course I would. You make it out like I'm completely emotionless." JJ scoffed in amazement.

"No you're not emotionless, JJ. But you are closed off from me." The detective stated in knowledge of all the times the couple had try to approach the subject of JJ's true feelings.

JJ rested against the kitchen counter top and allowed her chin to fall onto her chest in defeat. "I've tried so hard."

"I know and this is more my problem than yours. I thought we had a great relationship. I thought we had an unbreakable connection." Will reassured slowly.

JJ raised her head with a query. "But she broke it?"

"No, the kiss made me realise that we've always missed intense passion." He attempted to reveal his reasons gently, yet he saw the hurt flash across her face.

"It's never been passionate for you?" JJ questioned in sudden astonishment.

Will chewed his inner cheek nervously. "I don't know about the start of our relationship, but you've never been completely connected to me, I guess."

"Then why stay with me?" She asked with a sigh.

"I love you." He answered surely.

"There has to be more, Will." She said dejectedly.

Will ran his hand through his hair and paced the small room. "When we met, I just lost my Dad. He was the last of my family. I had the job and that's it. Then suddenly, you were there in my life, making me laugh. We had a great time together and then Henry came along and I found everything that I thought I was missing."

"So we replaced your family." JJ filled in the blanks dryly.

Will shrugged his shoulders. "You filled a huge, dark hole inside of me and I am, oh so grateful that I met you and that we've had these last five years together. I'm just so sorry that I wrecked it all."

"Why did you have to kiss her?" JJ asked in need for the truth.

"Because I stopped thinking and I just took what I wanted." Will spoke without emotion.

JJ observed her partner of many years before meeting his eyes with unknown confidence. "You should go."

"JJ, I don't want to hurt you but I can't lie anymore." He took a small step towards her but froze as her hand indicated him to stop.

"Then go and make sure your things are out of the house before Henry and I get back on Sunday." Agent Jareau replaced the scorned woman, the slightly older man noted.

Will sighed guiltily. "JJ."

"I can't look at you anymore. I'll call you when I'm ready to." She chewed her lower lip in attempt to control the butterflies in her stomach.

"I am so, so very sorry." He apologised solemnly.

"No, you're not Will, you're relieved." JJ barked.

Will shook his head adamantly. "That's not true, JJ, I'm..."

JJ eyed him in disappointment. "I thought you weren't going to lie anymore?"

"I..."

"I don't need to be a profiler Will, to read you like an open book. You have relief in your eyes. When you kissed Emily, you were looking for a way out of our relationship. It might not have been a conscious choice, hell, it might have been an in the moment response, but you're running now. As fast as you possibly can." JJ remarked stoically.

Will took a step back as though her words were a physical blow not just an emotional one. "I thought we could get passed the kiss, I truly did. I thought we could work it out. But we can't. I have to be the one to walk away and whether you see it as me running, it's only because I can't bear the thought of hurting you any further than I already have. If we could move past this, don't you think I'd do everything in my power...?"

JJ caught his flinch as she nodded her agreement. "Be honest, what did you expect me to do? To fling myself at you, beg you not to leave me?"

"No, JJ. I don't want to do this. I hate myself for doing this to you but it would be selfish of me to try and hang onto you." He explained sadly.

JJ rolled her eyes. "Two kisses and it ruined everything?"

"I'm sorry." He whispered in response.

"Two kisses and you felt more passion with her compared to any feelings from four, nearly five years with me?" She asked in ridicule.

Will met the harshness with a small, loving expression. "I love you and I'll always love you. I've always been attracted to you and that was never the issue. I just felt a spark that we never managed to ignite and I want us both to experience that and be happy."

"What about Henry?" JJ queried worriedly.

Will looked around the small room unsurely. "We'll talk to him together. It can be all, of my fault. It is all, of my fault."

"You should really go now, Will." JJ repeated with finality.

"I'll see you sometime next week?" He said hopefully.

JJ remained frozen to the far corner of the kitchen, her emotions not betraying her inner turmoil. "No. I want you out the house when we get back, remember? I don't want to see you for a little while."

"I guess I can respect that." He offered meekly.

JJ nodded her thanks. "Bye."

"Tell Henry I love him." Will stopped in the doorway, knowing as he entered the house less than an hour ago that they were alone and he'd have no choice in being able to see his son.

"I'll get Henry to call your cell tonight, so you can say goodnight to him." JJ replied softly.

Will swallowed the lump in his throat at the kindness he didn't deserve in that moment. "Thank you."

...

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